The Rise and Fall of Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods started as a prodigy, continued on to be a legend and now is nothing but a media inferno. Woods is the highest paid athlete in the world and his achievements rank him as one of the most successful golfers of all time. Before the infamous scandal, Woods was considered the world’s most marketable athlete signing endorsement deals with Nike, General Motors, Gatorade and the list goes on. Tiger was the golden child not only for golf, but for professional sports as a whole.

In the world of public relations something can go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Tiger Woods for example, saw his career flash before his eyes. The golfer was involved in the most covered and speculated scandal in the history of sports and his image would forever pay the price. In November, 2009 a tornado of rumors broke out revealing a side of Woods the world had never seen. In summary, a number of sources were exposing Tiger’s marriage claiming the golfer had numerous affairs with different women. The story resulted in an instant media outburst, creating a tremendous amount of speculation and controversy.

Tiger Woods has lost millions of dollars due to the mistakes he commited in his personal life. Photo Credit to Keith Allison.

At first, it seemed Woods was dealing with the issue internally by declining to comment or address the matter publicly. Initially, Tiger was advised to lay low until the story blew over. However; it never would. After over a dozen women confirmed having sexual encounters with the golfer he was forced to confront his mistakes. Three months later on February 19th, 2010 Woods held a press conference admitting to infidelity and apologizing for his actions. Now more than ever, Tiger turned to his management team pleading for guidance.

Luckily for Tiger, the highest paid athlete in the world has access to a highly reputable management team who is paid to handle situations like this one. Woods’ publicist helped him construct his speech before his live press conference, which the entire world would see. His lawyer defended his rights by preventing media outlets to publish explicit photos of Woods and threatened to bring a lawsuit to anyone who was making false claims. Damage control was in full effect, but it was too little too late.

The day after his historic press conference Woods felt the aftermath of his actions after several sponsorships either suspended or terminated business with the former number one golfer in the world. Shortly after, Tiger was strongly advised by his management team to step away from golf in order to focus on rebuilding his image. At an attempt to restore his reputation, Woods received therapy and enrolled in a sex addiction program in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which many speculated was nothing more than a PR stunt. In addition, Woods stated he planned to re- embrace his faith in Buddhism, a belief he had cherished since childhood.

Tiger Woods was the first athlete who faced serious consequences in a revolutionized media society. Woods ignited a flurry of new studies that evaluated the circumstances of new media and analyzed the losses in revenue due to the outcome of his mistakes. The estimated shareholder loss caused by Woods extramarital affairs was said to be between 5 billion and 12 billion dollars.

If Tiger Woods had made the same mistakes 20 years ago chances are we would have never heard about it. Unfortunately for Tiger, his legacy has been tarnished and although people should remember him for his remarkable abilities as a golfer, most will remember his unforgettable scandal that has changed his life forever. Aside from losing millions of dollars, Woods now faces the challenge of rebuilding his image, which at one point was flawless. Tiger Woods’ management team has a difficult task in front of them and the world is waiting for his recovery. Here’s an article published when the rumors first started regarding Woods’ infidelity. Tiger Woods Scandal